Adjustable optical reflector for fluorescent fixture

ABSTRACT

An adjustable specular reflector adapted for use in existing fluorescent lighting fixtures includes a plurality of facets extending longitudinally and hingedly joined together. The reflector may be formed of a form-retaining cardboard web having a highly reflective material adhered to one side, with longitudinal score lines defining the hinge portions between adjacent facets. A malleable wire or strip is secured to each end of the web, so that the facets may be oriented in a desired focussing relationship and will remain in the field-configured orientation. A rigid channel member is secured to opposed, longitudinally extending edges of the web to maintain planarity of the reflector facets. Self-adhesive patches are secured to the non-reflector side of the web, so that the reflector may be installed in virtually any fluorescent fixture.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the past forty years fluorescent lighting has been the illuminationof choice in constructing new buildings and spaces for retail,commercial, and office construction. As a general rule, fluorescentlighting has been arranged so that the illumination at floor level isuniform and bright. In an era of inexpensive electricity, this basicdesign parameter was sensible, especially in view of the fact that thefinal layout of office desks, retail counters, and the like could not bepredicted by the building designer or electrical contractor.

However, in the last decade the increasing cost of electricity hassignificantly changed the design approach to lighting. It is now muchmore desirable to reduce the consumption of electicity, not only for thedirect reduction of utility costs, but also to reduce air conditioningloads caused by secondary generation of heat in lighting fixtures. Aslighting becomes more precious, it is clearly desirable to deliverbright illumination only to those areas where it is required, and toprovide low level illumination elsewhere.

The problem for a great many owners and operators of building space ishow to reduce electricity consumption for lighting, while providingillumination sufficient for the activities being carried out, withoutincurring prohibitive costs. One strategy involves removing every otherfluorescent tube, and adding either desk lamps or movable track lightingto provide sufficient task illumination. However, the added fixtureexpense, together with the relative inefficiency of the incandescentlamps in the new fixtures results in little savings. Completereplacement of the existing fluorescent fixtures is another alternative,although the cost of this approach is generally very high.

A recent innovation is retrofit optical reflectors, adapted to beinstalled in existing fluorescent fixtures. These reflectors aredesigned to focus the fluorescent illumination on the task areas belowthe fixtures, so that either some fixtures may be eliminated, or somefluorescent tubes may be removed. These reflectors are generally made offormed sheet metal, much like the fixtures in which they are to beinstalled. They are not adapted to be altered in the field to focus thelight onto specific task areas. Thus, although these prior art devicesmay increase illumination intensity by 30% directly below the fixtures,they cannot direct the illumination to the locations where it isactually required. Moreover, each of the many fluroescent fixturemanufacturers have developed their own fixture designs and dimensions;each type of fixture requires a unique retrofit reflector. In a singlebuilding or installation, there may be many differing types of fixtures,each requiring a different type of retrofit reflector.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention generally comprises an optical reflector adaptedto be used in existing fluorescent fixtures. A significant feature ofthe invention is that the reflector is designed to be adjusted duringinstallation so that the fixture focus may be directed to the actualtask area associated with the fixture. Another salient aspect of theinvention is that the reflector may be installed in virtually anyfluorescent fixture of any manufacturer, and is thus a generic solutionto the prior art problem of reducing fluorescent lighting costs.

The adjustable specular reflector adapted for use in existingfluorescent lighting fixtures includes a plurality of facets extendinglongitudinally and hingedly joined together. The reflector may be formedof a form-retaining cardboard web having a highly reflective materialadhered to one side, such as aluminized Mylar of the like. Longitudinalscore lines in the web define adjacent reflector facets and form thelinear hinge portions therebetween. A deformable yet form-retaining wireor strip is secured to the end portion at each end of the web, so thatthe facets may be oriented in a desired focussing relationship and willremain in that field-configured orientation.

A rigid channel member is secured to opposed, longitudinally extendingedges of the web to maintain planarity of the reflector facets.Self-adhesive patches are secured to the non-reflector side of the web,so that the reflector may be adhered within a fixture without recourseto any tools. The self-adhesive patches eliminate any critical interfitdimensional tolerances, so that the reflector may be installed invirtually any fluorescent fixture.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the focussing fluorescent reflector ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the reflector as in FIG. 1, showninstalled in a representative fluorescent fixture.

FIG. 3 is a simplified representation of a prior art fluorescentlighting fixture.

FIG. 4 is a simplified representation of the improvement in tasklighting achieved with a fluorescent fixture fitted with the reflectorof the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an end view of the reflector of the present invention, showingthe adjustable angular relationships between facets thereof.

FIG. 6 is an end elevation of the reflector of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional elevation taken along line 7--7 ofFIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional elevation taken along line 8--8 ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is a simplified representation of a prior art fluorescentlighting fixture.

FIG. 10 is a simplified representation of a further use of the presentinvention, in which one fluorescent tube is removed and the reflector isused to provide uniform illumination from the remaining tube.

FIG. 11 is a plan layout of the adjustable fluorescent reflector of thepresent invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention generally comprises an adjustable specularreflector adapted to be installed in fluorescent lighting fixtures. Thereflector is designed for retrofit in a wide variety of previouslyinstalled fixtures, as well as for use in newly manufactured fixtures.With regard to FIGS. 1, 5, 6, and 11, the reflector 12 of the presentinvention is formed of a rectangular web 13 of stiff, generallyform-retaining material such as thick cardboard, plastic, or the like. Aplurality of longitudinally extending facets 16 are defined in the web13 by a plurality of parallel, longitudinally extending fold lines orscore lines 14 formed by a standard die process known in the paper andpackaging prior art. The lines 14 not only define the contiguous,adjacent facets 16, they also form integral hinges between adjacentfacets 16. The web 13 is thus disposed to be bent from the planardisposition of FIG. 11 to a concave configuration, as shown in FIGS. 1,2, 5, and 6. The surface 17 of the web 13 which forms the interiorsurface of the concave configuration is provided with a highlyreflective specular surface layer, such as aluminized Mylar or the like.

A significant feature of the present invention is that the web 13 may bearranged in virtually any desired concave configuration, and it willmaintain that configuration thereafter until and unless theconfiguration is purposely altered by manual effort. With regard toFIGS. 6, 7,and 11, joined to the opposed end edges 18 and 19 of the web13 is a pair of edge moldings or channels 21. The channels 21 areretained on the respective edge portions by crimping, and arepermanently secured thereto. A wire or strip 22 is captured within thechannel 21, and extends substantially the entire length of therespective edge 18 or 19. The member 22 is fashioned of a material thatis deformable yet form retaining, such as a malleable metal or the like.Also, the wall 23 of the channel 22 which impinges on the outer surfaceof the web 13 is provided with relief die cuts 24 aligned with the hingelines 14. As a result, the molding permits bending of the web 13 alongthe hinge lines 14 to create the concave reflector shape, and the member22 has sufficient form-retaining ability to maintain that shape.

The web 13 also includes a pair of channel members 26 secured to theopposed, longitudinally extending edges thereof, as shown in FIG. 8. Themembers 26 provide added stiffness to the longitudinal edges. It may beappreciated that the hinge lines 14, because of their linear nature,tend to define facets 16 which are planar. The channels 26 assure thatthe opposed longitudinal edges are also linear, so that the outer facetsare maintained in a planar configuration. With regard to both types ofchannel members 21 and 26, U-shaped channels have been shown for purposeof example only. Other types of channel configurations known in theprior art, such as "L" channel or the like may also be included withinthe scope of the invention.

The invention also includes a plurality of self-adhesive patches 28secured to the outer surface of at least one of the facets 16, such asthe medial facet, as shown in FIG. 1. The preferred form of patch 28comprises a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer having a peelable releasestrip covering. Thus the reflector of the present invention may beformed to the desired concave shape, the release strips removed, and thereflector adhered to the inner surface of the fluorescent fixture 30, asshown in FIG. 2. A greater number of adhesive patches 28 may beprovided, and may be secured to the outer surfaces of other facets 16,to permit securing the reflector to a large variety of fixtures.

It is significant to note that installation of the reflector of thepresent invention is not dependent upon any particular structuralfeature or dimension of the fluorescent fixture, so that the reflectoris adapted to be used with virtually any fixture known in the prior art.Also, the reflector is installable without recourse to any tools, andwithout disassembly of any portion of the fixture. Due to the fact thatlighting fixtures, by their very nature, are disposed in locationsremote from casual impact or mechanical interference, the reflector willremain in place in the desired reflecting configuration. However, it iseasy to remove the reflector when desired, or to reconfigure the shapeof the reflector to redirect the illumination from the fixture, as isdictated by the nature of the activity or task below the fixture.

For example, FIG. 3 depicts a typical prior art fluorescent lightingfixture 31 which is designed to provide broad, dispersed, uniformillumination to the area therebelow. If the use of the area is laterchanged to a specific task, it is frequently necessary to redirect theuniform illumination to the task area, such as a desk, sales counter,manufacturing assembly area, or the like. In such case, a plurality ofreflectors 12 of the present invention may be installed in the fixture31, and individually configured by manually bending the reflectors andobserving the focussing of the fluorescent lighting onto the task area.In this manner the lighting may be optimized for individual situations,whereas most prior art reflectors cannot be adjusted easily toaccommodate differing focussing requirements.

It should also be noted that in some instances the focussingrequirements for a number of reflectors 12 may be virtually identical.For example, an assembly line disposed adjacent to and offset from aline of fluroescent fixtures may require that all of the fixtures bealtered to redirect the illumination at the same angle. In this case, itmay be economical to fashion a jig for bending all of the reflectors 12into the same concave configuration, rather than empirically alteringeach reflector to the optimum shape by trial and error.

With regard to FIGS. 9 and 10, a further use of the present inventioninvolves saving electrical energy used in lighting. A typical two tubefluroescent fixture 32 is shown in FIG. 9. It is often possible toreduce power consumption by removing one of the fluorescent tubes.However, the light from the remaining tube must be redirected to providegenerally uniform illumination, or to direct the light to a specifictask area. For the former purpose, a reflector 12 of the presentinvention may be installed in the fixture 32, after the tube 33 isremoved. The reflector is shaped to direct the light from the remainingtube to an approximate line focus which corresponds to the position ofthe removed tube, thus creating a uniform illumination field.

It may be appreciated that the reflector of the present invention may bestored and shipped in a generally flat disposition, and configured inthe field to form a concave reflector. This feature permits extremelycompact and efficient packing of a plurality of the reflectors in acontainer, in vertically stacked fashion, resulting in easy handling andlow shipping rates.

I claim:
 1. An adjustable specular reflector, comprising; a plurality ofplanar facets in edge adjacent relationship, hinge means for joiningeach of said facets in pivotting fashion with respect to adjacentfacets, said facets adapted to define together a contiguous, generallyconcave surface, a specular reflective layer adhered to said surface,means for maintaining said facets in selectively variable angularrelationships, and a plurality of self-adhesive patches secured to thesurface of said reflector opposed to said contiguous concave surface,said patches being disposed to be secured to the inner surface of anexisting lighting fixture.
 2. The reflector of claim 1, wherein saidlast mentioned means includes at least one deformable, form-retainingmember joined to all of said facets.
 3. The reflector of claim 2,further including a pair of said deformable, form-retaining members,each secured to opposed end portions of said reflector.
 4. The reflectorof claim 3, further including first channel means joined to said opposedend portions, said first channel means securing said deformable,form-retaining member thereto.
 5. The reflector of claim 1, wherein saidreflector is formed of a unitary web member, and said hinge meansincludes a plurality of fold lines formed in said web member.
 6. Thereflector of claim 5, wherein said fold lines extend longitudinally insaid web member and are disposed in generally parallel relationship. 7.The reflector of claim 6, further including second channel means joinedto opposed, longitudinally extending edge portions of said web member.8. The reflector of claim 7, wherein said second channel means aresufficiently stiff to maintain linearity of said longitudinallyextending edge portions.
 9. The reflector of claim 8, further includingfirst channel means joined to laterally extending edge portions of saidweb member, said first channel means including means to permit bendingthereof at locations aligned with said fold lines in said web.
 10. Thereflector of claim 1, in which each of said facets define a generallyrectangular planar configuration with adjacent longitudinally extendingedge portions of adjacent facets being joined by said hinge means. 11.An optical reflector adapted for use in a lighting fixture, comprising;a web member formed of generally stiff material, one surface of said webhaving a specular reflective layer adhered thereto, a plurality of scorelines formed in said web member to define a plurality of edge adjacentfacets therein, said score lines defining hinge areas between adjacentfacets to permit relative pivotal motion therebetween, said web memberbeing configurable to a concave configuration with said specularreflective layer interior thereto, a plurality of deformable,form-retaining members secured to all of said facets and disposed tomaintain said facets in selectively variable angular relationships,channel means joined to longitudinally extending edge portions of saidweb member and having sufficient stiffness to maintain a linearconfiguration thereof, and a plurality of self-adhesive patches joinedto the other surface of said web member and disposed to adhere saidreflector within a lighting fixture.
 12. An optical reflector adaptedfor use in a lighting fixture, comprising; a web member formed ofgenerally stiff material, one surface of said web having a specularreflective layer adhered thereto, a plurality of score lines formed insaid web member to define a plurality of edge adjacent facets therein,said score lines defining hinge areas between adjacent facets to permitrelative, freely pivotting motion therebetween, said web member beingconfigurable to a concave configuration with said specular reflectivelayer interior thereto, means for maintaining said facets in selectivelyvariable angular relationships, and mounting means disposed to securesaid reflector within a lighting fixture.